I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for supporting quality of service (QoS) in communication networks.
II. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, packet data, and so on. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) networks.
A user may utilize a wireless device to obtain various communication services. Each service may be satisfactorily provided to the user by ensuring that a specified quality of service (QoS) is achieved for that service. QoS may be quantified by different parameters for different services. For example, a voice service may require a relatively stringent delay and a certain minimum guaranteed data rate whereas a packet data service may require a certain target packet error rate.
A wireless network typically provides the specified QoS for each service in a specific manner, e.g., using specific QoS parameters. Different wireless networks may utilize different QoS parameters for the same or comparable service. The different manners in which different wireless networks provide QoS can be problematic. For example, a wireless user may be roaming and may be handed off from one wireless network to another wireless network while receiving a packet data service. These wireless networks may provide QoS for the packet data service in different ways. The wireless device would then need to be aware of the difference in QoS support by the two wireless networks and request the appropriate QoS parameters from the new wireless network. This complicates the design of the wireless device and hinders roaming.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to more seamlessly support QoS across different wireless networks.